Calderdale Pubs and Clubs

13/09/2026

Puzzle Hall - 21 Hollins Mill Lane, Sowerby Bridge

Fact - also a brewery

12/09/2026

Great article - The Queen - Swine market/Dungeon Street/Gaol Lane, Halifax (closed in 1968)

Fact - aka 'Queen Inn' and 'Queen Hotel'

Where? Behind the Grand Junction, bottom of Gibbet Street

11/09/2026

Royal Hotel - Briggate/Elland Bridge, Elland

Designed in 1865.

Became 'The Bridge' and is now a wellbeing therapy centre

10/09/2026

King of Belgium - 5 King Street, Cripplegate, Halifax

End of Ratton Row

Closed in 1929 and demolished in 1930

Fact - originally called 'Frederick the Great'.

Where? Approx council car park below Hirds vets by Hx Minster

29/08/2026

Cat in th'Well - Lower Saltonstall, Wainstalls
Fact - The building dates back to late 18c.

There is a legend relating to the white rock – Cat Rocks – behind the pub which says that ...the licensee must paint the rock white on a certain day of the year
If he fails to do this, the pub will fail.
The story says that ...Robin Hood started this custom after he befriended the landlord of the pub on his travels between Nottingham and Carlisle. The landlord had hidden Robin Hood in the pub – some say it was a priest's hole – when the authorities were following him. The landlord's reward was a share in some of Robin's ill-gotten gains. The money was hidden near to the rock, and the only way the landlord could find the money was to paint it yearly so that Robin Hood on his travels could see that the hoard was being looked after, because the stone was newly-painted.
One year, as a joke, the landlord painted the stone pink not believing the legend. There was an uproar in Halifax and the pub went out of business later that year.
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A Curious Name at the Gate: “Cait i’ th’ Well” and the Luddenden Dean Inn
A set of press cuttings highlighted a long-running local puzzle connected with the inn at the gateway to Luddenden Dean. The inn is known to have existed since at least the 1860s, but the origin of its name has been debated for years.

One explanation mentioned is that the inn’s name may be a corruption of an older name associated with St Catherine’s Well — sometimes referred to locally as “Catherine’s Well.” Notes that the connection is suggested by the similarity in sound and the way names can shift in everyday speech over time.

The piece also refers to a discovery made in 1953: a series of old friendly society banners found on the premises. According to the report, the banners were believed to be connected with local friendly societies and were thought to have been stored there for many years. In an upstairs room, three “beams” were found that were described as lockers; when opened, they revealed ragged banners that could be unfurled.

The article adds that friendly societies were common in pubs and meeting places, and that many existed before the late 18th century, later becoming more formally organised. It suggests the banners may have been part of that tradition.

The clipping also mentions that a photographer from the Courier & Guardian was present to record an event connected with the discovery, but that the photograph did not come out well enough for publication.

28/08/2026

Union Cross, originally called 'The Crosse'.

27/08/2026

Pubs of the Past - WCs, Bar 15.

In 1984, local entrepreneur David Lovell proposed converting the closed toilet block into an unusual bar and bistro. The idea met opposition, not simply because of the building’s past use, but because the fixtures and fittings inside were considered valuable historical artefacts. Some people even suggested the toilets could reopen and “pay their way” as a tourist attraction.

The reason was the quality of the surviving fittings. The Bull Green block contained particularly fine examples of work by a Halifax firm described here as long-gone but legendary: Oates and Green. The company’s main works had been at Horley Green (later covered by 1960s housing), and the firm is said to have originated in the 1860s. It was one of several local firms that mined clay from the hills around Halifax and used it to manufacture items including tiles, bricks, pipes, and sanitary ware.

Oates and Green’s products were widely used and recognisable. Its noted that many people would have encountered the company’s distinctive trefoil trademark on cisterns, urinals, and wash basins, not only locally but across the country and as far as the Isle of Man. It also mentions that the firm marketed toilets under names such as the Belcorus, the Scolaire, and the Birkenshaw, and produced wash basins named after local places including Luddenden, Hebden, and Mytholm.

In 1908, Oates and Green became part of the Leeds Fireclay Group, though the company continued until the 1950s. The works were demolished in 1957. By the 1980s, surviving Oates and Green fittings were described as rare — although some pubs and Halifax Town Hall still had examples. This helped explain why the Bull Green fittings were seen as worth preserving, and were described as the finest remaining complete set of 1930s fittings made by the firm.

The heritage objection was strong enough to stall planning permission for Lovell’s conversion project. Lovell, however, was sceptical that the loos could succeed as a tourist attraction, reportedly saying he could not see anyone paying 10p to look at them when they would not even spend a penny to use them.

Eventually, in mid-1985, the bar was given the go-ahead. Some Oates and Green fittings were retained, but most were removed and sold as antiques. The page reports that some toilets even ended up in the USA, used as ornamental plant stands. The bar opened in October 1985 and was called WC’s. Under later owners the name changed over time, and it became known as No 15.

25/08/2026

Black Swan to Yates's. How many different names has this property had. Extra points for photo evidence of each.

24/08/2026

This pub was rebuilt in 1932, but what pub is it?

Pic1. Halifax Courier. A pre 1932 picture
Pic2. Enhanced for a clearer view

23/08/2026